The NBA opened the year still very impressed with the New York Knicks' second-ever NBA title from a year ago. Much publicized, the team largely played this year as a victory lap, particularly after cornerstone Dave DeBusschere announced his pending retirement halfway through the season. Their opponent in three of the last four NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers, also went through some key changes. Wilt Chamberlain had taken the money and run to San Diego of the ABA, which came to mean the end of his colossal career. Jerry West played just 31 games due to injury, and that likewise spelled the end to his nearly peerless career at guard. These two teams, which had led the league from two huge cities and carried the NBA to new media heights, were now poised to decline, which now gave strong runners-up from a year ago their chance to ascend.

There were no 60-win monsters this season, but four teams did win over 50 games. Two of them, Milwaukee and Boston cast strong shadows all season long, each led by powerful individual forces determined to win.

Milwaukee won a league-high 59 of 82 NBA games, led again by superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jabbar had not seen the NBA Finals since the controversial changing of his name, but now had no Wilt Chamberlain to prevent his return. He averaged 27 points per game, making more field goals, 948, than any player in the league. The Bucks were again the top shooting team in the NBA and led in average margin of points over opponents as well. Second in minutes played and in the new blocked shots category, Jabbar was a peerless presence all season long. One player, Atlanta's high-scoring Pete Maravich, tried more shots, but Jabbar sank his tries at a 53.9% clip, second best in the NBA. The rest of the Bucks lineup provided good support for Jabbar, but age and injuries remained a concern into the playoffs.

The Boston Celtics cast a very determined shadow across the East with 56 wins, willed by 33-year-old captain John Havlicek. The swingman star was again All-Defense while scoring 22.8 points per game. Hondo even leaked into the NBA's top assists category with six per game on average. More impressive than Havlicek, however, was the continued intensity and standout play of 6' 9 245-pound center Dave Cowens. Cowens added 19 points per game and was second in the NBA in rebounds, leading the best board team in the league. Like Milwaukee's Jabbar, he was a fixture in minutes played. But he was a star with a solid team around him, including guard Jo Jo White. The Celtics did not have The Player, but very much looked like The Team.

Milwaukee's 59 wins won the Midwest Division, but not by much. The Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons each again posted strong campaigns to finish second and third in the division, with the third and fourth best records in the entire league.

Chicago, led again by coach Dick Motta, followed the same tried and true formula of scoring from the forwards and strong defense overall. Forward Bob Love rarely saw a shot he didn't like at 21.8 points per game. The Bulls impressed all season long in being able to deny opponents easy shots with strong, clean defense that did not often foul. Cliff Ray stepped in for an injured Tom Boerwinkle and performed solidly, the team not missing a beat. Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier each were in the top ten in the new steals category, Sloan ranking fourth in the NBA.

Detroit's hard luck team showed some of its potential this year. Former player Ray Scott had taken over for Butch Van Breda Kolff's controversial mentorship and was now leading a winner. Bob Lanier emerged as the solid center every team covets with 22.5 points per game on 50% shooting and 13.3 rebounds with four assists per game as well. Big Bob also averaged three blocks a game. Former scoring champion Dave Bing was back, quarterbacking his club with seven assists per game and adding 18.8 per game in scoring. Vision problems still dogged him, hampering what had once looked like a sure Hall Of Fame career. Detroit's 52 wins would have won the Pacific Division. Third in the Midwest, they simply hoped to be allowed into the playoffs.

Five other NBA teams won half their games to make a total of nine out of 17 total teams; there were no Philadelphia 76er disasters like there had been a year ago. The playoff format took a closer look at records this year to answer criticisms of recent years past that had strongly tied playoff selections to the league's four divisions. It allowed some deserving teams to participate, which many were glad to see.

Boston met 42-40 Buffalo in Round One, the Braves finishing as a third-place team in the Atlantic Division. The Braves were led by self-promoting superstar Bob McAdoo, the NBA's most dangerous shooter at 30.6 points per game and 54.7% accuracy, both tops in the NBA. The Big Mac was also among the NBA's top five rebounders and shot blockers, an impressive feat. Jack Ramsay's club was well-balanced and deep, with Ernie DiGregorio as the pure point guard to lead his offense. The six-game series was very close, with the last three games decided by three points or less. But Boston's defense gave them a series win four games to two.

The aging Knicks had dropped to 49 wins to finish second in the Atlantic, and again drew the Bullets as their first playoff opponents --- the Capital City Bullets. Washington, D.C. was slyly and slowly taking over Baltimore's team. But the 47-win Bullets were still largely the same bunch. Elvin Hayes and Phil Chenier were the team stars this year, with Wes Unseld battling knee injuries. Hayes had stepped up to lead the NBA in rebounds. The 6'10 240-pounder was also a leading shot blocker, while Chenier proved to be one of the league's best all around guards at both ends of the floor. The team, now coached by former Celtic K.C. Jones, gave the Knicks a tough full-seven game series, but the outcome was the same. Game Four went to overtime and Game Five ended 106–105, both Knick wins. Boston and New York were now set for another huge East final.

Milwaukee met the 47-win Los Angeles Lakers, winners of the Pacific, in the first round, but these were now different Lakers. Elmore Smith had come over from Buffalo to lead the league in blocks. Connie Hawkins had come over from Phoenix, and Happy Hairston was back on the boards. Gail Goodrich continued to bewilder critics with a 25.3 scoring average, trying and making more free throws than any other NBA player at an 86% clip. Like the Knicks, the Lakers were deep and smart. And old. The Bucks blew them out for a 4–1 series win which signaled a clear change between the two teams in their rich rivalry.

Chicago got to meet Detroit in a seven-game war, using their fourth home game to barely survive the Pistons. Five of the seven games were decided by five points or less, all hotly competitive. Bob Lanier tried mightily to make up for his forwards, but the all-star fell just short. Milwaukee and Chicago kept that Midwest theme alive in the second round for the West final.

Boston made it plain they would not play around with New York this year, with two big double-digit romps to start the series. The Knicks, clearly now led by their stellar backcourt of Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, showed some heart by beating Boston in Boston in Game Three. But that proved a final parting shot for the New Yorkers who had been in three of the last four NBA Finals. Havlicek made sure of that almost single-handedly, leading a 4–1 series win.

Chicago's forwards and guards appeared to outplay Milwaukee for four games. But Ray was no match for Jabbar at center, and coach Larry Costello's team got a good bench boost as well to pound the Bulls in four straight. Only Game Two in Chicago had been close. Jabbar was just as determined as Havlicek.

Milwaukee was favored in the NBA Finals, with Cowens looking up at the 7' 2 Jabbar. But the Boston center conceded nothing, averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds in courageous play. The series would be a classic, going the full seven games. Jabbar got some solid help in the shooting of Bobby Dandridge and the passing of 35-year-old wore-out Oscar Robertson. But the Celtics hung tough, even after losing 102–101 in a legendary double-overtime affair at Boston Garden that saw Jabbar throw in a 15-foot hook shot to win the game at the buzzer.

Game Seven in Milwaukee saw the Bucks poised to win their second title in four years. But Cowens turned in a huge 28-point game with aggressive defense to push the Celtics to a 102–87 upset. Havlicek had averaged 27 points and six assists in 18 playoff games to win his first NBA title ring without Bill Russell. But it was Cowens, who had saved his best game for last, who stood out most in proving he was in fact center-enough to lead an NBA champion past the taller giants of the league.

1.
Basketball
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Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s

2.
NBA on CBS
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CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–1974 NBA season until the 1989–90 NBA season. During CBS first few years of covering the NBA, CBS was accused of mishandling their NBA telecasts, regular features included a pre-game show that consisted of mini-teams of celebrities, and active and former NBA players competing against each other, and a halftime show called Horse. The NBA eventually took notice of the criticisms and managed to persuade CBS to eliminate its original halftime show, in its place, came human-interest shows about the players. There also was a possibility that CBS would start televising a single game on Sunday afternoons. Other adjustments that CBS made in hopes of improving its coverage included hiring reporter Sonny Hill to cover the league on a full-time basis, CBS also put microphones and cameras on team huddles to allow viewers to see and hear coaches at work. Finally, CBS introduced a segment called Red Auerbach on Roundball. The segment intended to not only educate CBS viewers about the complexities of the pro game and they also subtly introduced audiences to an all-star team based on Auerbachs criteria such as screening and passing. Don Criqui was the host of this particular competition, the final, which pitted Larry McNeill of the Golden State Warriors against eventual winner Darnell Dr. Dunk Hillman of the Indiana Pacers, took place during Game 6 of the 1977 NBA Finals. At the time of the final, Hillmans rights had been traded to the New York Nets, since he was not officially a member of any NBA team, instead of wearing a jersey, he competed in a plain white tank top. Other players to compete in the slam dunk tournament included Julius Erving, George Gervin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, CBS, anxious for star power, also gave David Thompson the opportunity to be eliminated three times. During the 1977–78 season, CBS held a H-O-R-S-E competition at halftime of the Game of the Week telecasts, Again, Don Criqui hosted with Mendy Rudolph officiating. 32 players, including Rick Barry, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, JoJo White, Doug Collins, Paul Westphal and Bob McAdoo, Barry was eliminated in the first round by journeyman Earl Tatum of the Los Angeles Lakers. Maravich and Westphal made it all the way to the final, however, Maravich was injured and unavailable, so CBS instead had Westphal shoot a free-throw against Bag-Man. Westphal, with a bag over his head as well, made the free throw while Barry missed, from 1975 to 1979, CBS aired all NBA Finals games live, live NBA Finals game coverage on the network resumed in 1982. During this era, CBS aired weeknight playoff games from earlier rounds on tape delay at 11,30 p. m. Eastern Time, CBS continued this practice until at least the mid-1980s. CBS did not want sportscasters to give the score on the late-evening newscasts aired by its local affiliates. The network preferred the games to not be over by that time if they were going to be aired on later that night. Most CBS games were either 8,30 or 9,00 p. m. local starts, for instance, CBS aired Games 1–3 of the 1981 Western Conference Finals, between the Houston Rockets and Kansas City Kings

3.
Philadelphia 76ers
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The Philadelphia 76ers are an American professional basketball team based in Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA and they have won three NBA championships, with their first coming as the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. The second title came in the 1966–67 season, a team which was led by Chamberlain, the third title came in the 1982–83 season, won by a team led by Erving and Malone. The 76ers have only been back to the NBA Finals once since then, in 2001, while in the NBL with teams largely consisting of small Midwestern towns, the Nationals put together a 21–23 record, finishing in 4th place. In the playoffs, the Nats would be beaten by the fellow upstate neighbor Rochester Royals in 4 games, in their second season, 1947–48, the Nationals would struggle, finishing in 5th place with a 24–36 record. Despite their struggles, the Nats would make the playoffs, getting swept by the Anderson Duffey Packers in 3 straight games, several teams began to leave the NBL for the BAA as the foundation for an absorption was laid. The Nationals recipe for success began by recruiting Leo Ferris, in the playoffs the Nationals would make quick work of the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, winning the series in 2 straight games. However, in the semifinals the Nats would fall to the Anderson Duffey Packers for the second season in 4 games. In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that were absorbed by the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA, the Nationals were an instant success in the NBA, winning the Eastern Division in the 1949–1950 season, with a league best record of 51–13. In the playoffs the Nationals continued to play basketball, beating the Philadelphia Warriors in 2 straight. Moving on to the Eastern Finals, the Nationals battled the New York Knickerbockers, in the NBA Finals, the Nationals faced fellow NBL alums the Minneapolis Lakers. In Game 1 of the Finals the Nats lost just their home game of the season 68–66. The Nats did not recover, as they fell behind 3 games to 1 before falling in 6 games, despite several teams leaving the NBA for the National Professional Basketball League before the 1950–1951 season, the Nationals decided to stay put. In their second NBA season the Nationals played mediocre basketball all season, however, in the playoffs the Nats played their best basketball of the season as they stunned the 1st place Philadelphia Warriors in 2 straight, taking Game 1 on the road in overtime 91–89. In the Eastern Finals the Nationals were beaten by the New York Knickerbockers in a hard-fought 5-game series, in the playoffs the Nats knocked off the Philadelphia Warriors again in a 3-game series. However, in the Eastern Finals the Nats fell to the New York Knickerbockers again, the Nationals would finish in 2nd place in a hard fought 3-way battle for first place in the Eastern Division for the 1952–1953 season, with a record of 47–24. In the playoffs the Nationals would face the Boston Celtics dropping Game 1 at home 87–81, the Nationals acquired Alex Groza, and Ralph Beard as the Indianapolis Olympians folded leaving the NBA with just 9 teams for the 1953–1954 season

4.
NBA Most Valuable Player Award
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The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner of the NBA, until the 1979–80 season, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since the 1980–81 season, the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points, each vote is worth seven, each third-place vote is worth five. Starting from 2010, one ballot was cast by fans through online voting, the player with the highest point total wins the award. As of May 2016, the current holder of the award is Stephen Curry, every player who has won this award and has been eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record six times, both Bill Russell and Michael Jordan won the award five times, while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won the award four times. Russell and James are the players to have won the award four times in five seasons. Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson each won the three times, while Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry have each won it twice. Only two rookies have won the award, Wilt Chamberlain in the 1959–60 season and Wes Unseld in the 1968–69 season. Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, Tim Duncan of the U. S. Virgin Islands, Steve Nash of Canada, Stephen Curry in 2015–16 is the only player to have won the award unanimously. Shaquille ONeal in 1999–2000 and LeBron James in 2012–13 are the two players to have fallen one vote shy of a unanimous selection, both receiving 120 of 121 votes. Since the 1982–83 season, every winner was from a team won at least 50 games in the regular season that year. Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award NBA Development League Most Valuable Player Award General Specific

5.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP, in 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time, drafted by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft with the first overall pick, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After winning his first NBA championship in 1971, he adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at age 24, using his trademark skyhook shot, he established himself as one of the leagues top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the last 14 seasons of his career, Abdul-Jabbars contributions were a key component in the Showtime era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career his team succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and past the 1st round in 14 of them and he remains the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, and is ranked 3rd all-time in both rebounds and blocks. In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the greatest player in basketball history. Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a coach. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U. S. global cultural ambassador, in 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. was born in New York City, the child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces and was 22 1⁄2 inches long and he was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Power Memorial Academy, a Catholic high school in Manhattan. From an early age, Lew Alcindor began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments and this earned him a nickname—The tower from Power. His 2,067 total points were a New York City high school record, the team won the national high school boys basketball championship when Alcindor was in 11th grade, and was runner-up his senior year. Alcindor played on the UCLA freshman team only because the rule was in effect. In his first college game, Lew set a UCLA single game record with 56 points, in 1967 and 1968, he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Alcindor became the player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times. The 1965–66 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1, but on November 27,1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion

6.
Milwaukee Bucks
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The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball franchise based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as a team. The team is valued at $675 million according to Forbes. The Bucks have won one title, two conference titles, and 13 division titles. On January 22,1968, the NBA awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. a group headed by Wesley Pavalon, a fan contest was held to name the new team, with over 40,000 fans participating. One fan, R. D. Trebilcox, was awarded a new car for his part in reasoning why the Bucks was a nickname, saying that bucks were spirited, good jumpers, fast. In October, the Bucks played their first NBA regular-season game against the Chicago Bulls before a Milwaukee Arena crowd of 8,467, as is typical with expansion teams, the Bucks first season was a struggle. Their first victory came in their game as the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 134–118. The Bucks record that earned them a coin flip against their expansion cousins. It was a conclusion that the first pick in the draft would be Lew Alcindor of UCLA. The Bucks won the flip, but had to win a bidding war with the upstart American Basketball Association to secure him. Despite the Bucks stroke of fortune in landing Alcindor, no one expected what happened in 1969–70 and they finished with a 56–26 record – a nearly exact reversal of the previous year and good enough for the second-best record in the league, behind the New York Knicks. The 29-game improvement was the best in league history – a record which would stand for 10 years until the Boston Celtics jumped from 29 wins in 1978–79 to 61 in 1979–80. The Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the Eastern semifinals, Alcindor was a runaway selection for NBA Rookie of the Year. The following season, the Bucks got a gift when they acquired Oscar Robertson, known as the Big O. Subsequently, in only their season, the Bucks finished 66–16 – the second-most wins in NBA history at the time. During the regular season, the Bucks recorded a then-NBA record 20-game win streak and they then steamrolled through the playoffs with a dominating 12–2 record, winning the NBA Championship on April 30,1971, by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in four games

7.
Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and one of eight NBA teams to survive the leagues first decade, the Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League s Boston Bruins. The franchises 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise, as a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues. The Celtics have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the Finals, including their most recent appearances in 2008 and 2010, four Celtics players have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards. Their mascot Lucky the Leprechaun is a nod to the teams Irish heritage, in 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper, becoming the first NBA franchise to draft a black player. The Celtics struggled during their years, until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach. In the franchises early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all the scouting—both of opposing teams and college draft prospects—and scheduled all the road trips. One of the first great players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags, but when that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy went to the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955–56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade and he sent perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the second overall pick in the draft. Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the champion Celtics for more than a decade. With Bill Russell, the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, Russell went on to win 11 championships, making him the most decorated player in NBA history. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, however, with the acquisition of K. C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade. In 1959, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers, during that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals five times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry that has spanned generations. In 1964, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all African-American starting lineup. On December 26,1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tommy Heinsohn, joining Tom Satch Sanders, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, the Celtics defeated St. Louis 97–84. Boston won its next 11 games with Naulls starting in place of Heinsohn, the Celtics of the late-1950s–60s are widely considered as one of the most dominant teams of all time. Auerbach retired as coach after the 1965–66 season and Russell took over as player-coach, with his appointment, Russell also became the first African-American coach in any U. S. pro sport

8.
New York Knicks
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The New York Knickerbockers, commonly referred to as the Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City, the other is the Brooklyn Nets, along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of only two original NBA teams still located in its original city. The Knicks were successful during their years and were constant playoff contenders under the franchises first head coach Joe Lapchick. Beginning in 1950, the Knicks made three appearances in the NBA Finals, all of which were losing efforts. Lapchick resigned in 1956 and the team began to falter. It was not until the late 1960s when Red Holzman became head coach that the Knicks began to regain their former dominance, Holzman successfully guided the Knicks to two NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973. The Knicks of the 1980s had mixed success that included six playoff appearances, however, the playoff-level Knicks of the 1990s were led by future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, this era was marked by passionate rivalries with the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. During this time, they were known for playing tough defense under head coaches Pat Riley, during this era, the Knicks made two appearances in the NBA Finals, in 1994 and 1999, though they were unable to win an NBA championship. Since 2000, the Knicks have struggled to regain their former glory, in 2012–13, the franchise won its first division title in 19 years, but was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. According to a 2016 Forbes report, the Knicks were the most-valuable NBA franchise, in 1946, basketball, particularly college basketball, was a growing and increasingly profitable sport in New York City. Hockey was another sport at the time and generated considerable profits, however. Max Kase, a New York sportswriter, became the editor at the Boston American in the 1930s. Kase developed the idea of a professional league to showcase college players upon their graduation. Brown, intrigued by the opportunity to attain additional income when the teams were not playing or on the road. Ned Irish, a college basketball promoter, retired sportswriter and then president of Madison Square Garden, was in attendance, Kase originally planned to own and operate the New York franchise himself and approached Irish with a proposal to lease the Garden. Irish explained that the rules of the Arena Managers Association of America stated that Madison Square Garden was required to own any professional teams played in the arena

9.
KeyArena
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KeyArena is a multi-purpose arena in Seattle. It is located north of downtown in the 74-acre entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 Worlds Fair and it is used for entertainment purposes, such as concerts, ice shows, circuses, and sporting events. It has a capacity of 17,072 for basketball games,15,177 for ice hockey games and ice shows,16,641 for end-stage concerts. Risers hold 7,440 on the level and up to 7,741 on the lower level. The arenas current tenants are the Seattle Redhawks and the Seattle Storm of the WNBA, the Seattle University Redhawks mens basketball team are currently the arenas longest-serving tenant, having played in the arena from 1963 to 1980 and 2009 to present. Rat City Rollergirls of the Womens Flat Track Derby Association have been a tenant since 2009, KeyArena is now the permanent home of the Pac-12 Conferences womens basketball tournament. KeyArena was the home of the NBAs Seattle SuperSonics, WHL Seattle Totems, after 41 seasons in Seattle, the team became the Oklahoma City Thunder and the owners agreed to leave the SuperSonics name, logo, and colors in Seattle for a possible future NBA franchise. The Thunderbirds, who had called the Seattle Center Coliseum and KeyArena home for 32 years, KeyArena was the first publicly financed arena in the area to be fully supported by earned income from the building. The arena opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition, after the close of the Exposition the Pavilion was remodeled as the Washington State Coliseum, one of the centerpieces of the new Seattle Center. When the newly renovated Coliseum opened the Seattle University mens basketball became the arenas first major tenant. The Coliseum became home to the Seattle SuperSonics beginning with their season in 1967. The Washington State Coliseum would later be renamed the Seattle Center Coliseum, operated by the City of Seattle, the Seattle Center Coliseum in this incarnation hosted two NBA Finals, in 1978 and 1979, both meetings putting the Washington Bullets and the Seattle SuperSonics against each other. It was also the site of the only NBA game that was canceled on account of rain. On January 6,1986 the Sonics were hosting the Phoenix Suns during a rainstorm, timeouts were called so ball boys armed with towels could do their best to wipe up the puddles, but even so, two players slipped and fell on the wet surface. Finally, during the half, referee Mike Mathis called the game. The arena hosted the competitions of the 1990 Goodwill Games. Additionally, the arena has hosted concerts by famous artists. On August 21,1964 and August 25,1966, The Beatles performed at the arena, a notable performance by Metallica was in 1989, when they were supporting the Damaged Justice Tour

10.
Seattle Center
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Originally built for the 1962 Worlds Fair, the 74-acre Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle. Its landmark feature is the 605-foot tall Space Needle, a building that was, at its completion. Seattle Center is located just north of Belltown in the Uptown neighborhood, an unparalleled public gathering place, unique in the world, the 74-acre Seattle Center campus offers 40 acres of open space. It provides a home for over 30 cultural, educational and entertainment entities – and it provides rental spaces for a spectrum of commercial and community functions and serves as the largest live touring concert venue in the city. Seattle Center counted over 2.2 million visitors in 2016, International Fountain, located in the middle of the campus, operates all year round. Built for the 1962 Worlds Fair, the fountain was built as a modernist water sculpture, with over 20 spouts, the fountain goes through programmed cycles of shooting water patterns, accompanied by recorded world music. The music is changed twice a month, chosen to coordinate with the water patterns, before the 1962 Worlds Fair, the building was an armory. Seattle Center Armory is a city landmark. The large, flexible space can accommodate a range of commercial. The outdoor Mural Amphitheatre, featuring a mural by Paul Horiuchi. The Northwest Rooms, once a small center, now houses SIFF Film Center, The VERA Project. Seattle Center Skatepark aka Sea Sk8 Park, at the entrance at Thomas St. a piece of the Berlin Wall stands inconspicuously in the Seattle Center Armory Food Atrium. Seattle Center Productions, the programming arm of Seattle Center, presents over 500 free and affordable events throughout the year. The programming helps SCP to live into its mission to present programs, events and environments filled with art, entertainment and enrichment for all people. KEXP and Seattle Present Center Concerts at the Mural, the series, on Friday evenings in August,2017 marks the 10th year of the series, which offers free, all-ages shows tailored to the culturally curious who seek to discover the best of the area’s independent music scene. Seattle Center Armory transforms into a lively, colorful hub of child-sized entertainment during the spring school break period. Offers a variety of rides, balloon artists, face painters, caricaturists, an assortment of Student Showcases. Whirligig. is suitable for children 12 and under, a Toddler’s Zone is also available

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Seattle
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Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States and the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In July 2013, it was the major city in the United States. The city is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border, a major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015. The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, the settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named Seattle in 1852, after Chief Siahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late-19th century, growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, in 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District, to the Central District, the jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock subgenre grunge, archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the people occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay, the first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. In 1851, a party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28,1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, after a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps. For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, david Swinson Doc Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name Seattle appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23,1853, in 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14,1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of managing the city

12.
Detroit Pistons
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The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team plays its games at The Palace of Auburn Hills and was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1941. The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America in 1948, in 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won three NBA championships in 1989,1990 and 2004. The Detroit Pistons franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janets Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck and locomotive engines. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945 and they also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944,1945 and 1946. In 1948, the became the Fort Wayne Pistons, competing in the Basketball Association of America. In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA, there are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals, in the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then the Nationals rallied to win the game. Syracuse won on a throw by George King with twelve seconds left in the game. After the 1956–57 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team, although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. In 1947, they had lost the Detroit Gems of the NBL, Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroits status as the center of the automobile industry. The new Detroit Pistons played in Olympia Stadium for their first four seasons, the franchise was a consistent disappointment, struggling both on the court and at the box office. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by strong individuals. In fact, in their first 27 years in Detroit, they only had three winning seasons, some of the superstars who played for the team included Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Jimmy Walker, and Bob Lanier. At one point DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA, DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles. Detroit qualified for the postseason in four seasons, but never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs

The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in …

Wes Unseld, who won the NBA Rookie of the Year, NBA Regular Season MVP, and NBA Finals MVP awards, played all 13 seasons of his career with the Bullets.

During his nine seasons with the Bullets, Elvin Hayes averaged 21.3 points per game and 12.7 rebounds per game. He led the NBA in rebounding in the 1973–74 season with an average of 18.1 rebounds per game.